The long-term goal of this project is to determine the changes that take place in connective tissue in diseased blood vessels with the main focus on elastin fibers. This goal will be pursued by studying the biosynthetic pathway and mechanism of assembly of the intermolecular cross-links in aortic elastin fibers. Specific aims of this proposal will include studies on the in vitro fiber formation of soluble elastin and a determination to see if fiber formation is a necessary condition for the in vitro cross-linking of soluble elastin.